Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

September 2, 2012

Between Worlds

A review of Charles de Lint’s Mulengro (Orb, 2003) By Derek Newman-Stille Charles de Lint’s novel Mulengro: A Romany Tale is fundamentally about culture clashes and the competing interests of tradition and insularity against cultural assimilation. Mulengro is about a group of Gypsies (Romany people) who are being hunted by a man (called Mulengro by the Gypsie leaders) who is...

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September 1, 2012

Quote – the Lonely Place to Ask ‘Why’ and Discover Ourselves

“When we break up with a lover, watch the death of a loved one, or find ourselves suddenly without a job to pay the mortgage, we seek that lonely place to try to gather our thoughts. It is in such places, where our fears reign paramount; where we speak and pray aloud; where we ask ‘why’ and seek answers, that...

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August 31, 2012

Vampire Week on Speculating Canada – Sept 9- 15, 2012

It’s like Shark Week, but with less teeth. Vampires only need two to do the job that it takes a full mouth full of shark teeth for!! During the week of September 9th to September 15th 2012, stay tuned to Speculating Canada for : -An interview with vampire author Nancy Kilpatrick (and find out why she is called Canada’s Queen...

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August 31, 2012

Quote- Curiosity and Change

“Curiosity’s primal. Our senses scan our surroundings, alerting us most urgently about sudden change. Useful, that. Change can mean opportunity. It can mean danger. Finding lunch or being lunch. We’re hard-wired to notice the unexpected, then take action.” –Julie Czerneda – Foreward (Tesseracts Fifteen: A Case of Quite Curious Tales)

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August 30, 2012

Everyone Hides Behind Their Masks, Whether They Are Superheroes or Psychiatrists

A Review of Steve Vernon’s The Glint of Moonlight on Broken Glass in Nothing to Lose (Nocturne Press, 2007) By Derek Newman-Stille What does pain do to a person? In what way is victimhood contagious? Asks Steve Vernon in his short story The Glint of Moonlight on Broken Glass. Vernon’s story is a superhero story, but one that is not...

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August 29, 2012

Quote – Lost Amongst Similar Objects

“If cabdrivers are found to be lacking in curiosity, it can no doubt be attributed to that faculty having been lost amid the innumerable other curiosities cabmen find themselves surrounded by every week. In fact, as a general rule, on can say that things are most easily lost amongst similar objects, which is why seamstresses avoid the society of haymakers.”...

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August 29, 2012

Quote – Opportunity to Learn From Mistakes

“It is important that everyone be given the opportunity to learn from his or her own mistakes. This… is a duty, not a privilege.” -Benjamin Freedman – On the Planet Grafool (In Tesseracts)

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August 28, 2012

Spectres, Spooks, and Supernatural S.A.D.

A Review of Ian Rogers’ The Ash Angels (Burning Effigy Press, 2010) By Derek Newman-Stille The second book in Ian Rogers’ Felix Renn series, The Ash Angels, abstracts issues of depression onto a supernatural enemy. Rogers delves into the heart of depression, exploring the hollow emptiness of the soul, and the monstrous internal threat of the suicidal impulse. Unlike other...

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August 27, 2012

Quote – Canadian is Hard to Explain

“Canadian is both harder and easier to explain. Nobody knows what it is even supposed to be, let far-out-alone what it actually is.” -Judith Merril- Foreword (In Tesseracts)

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August 26, 2012

Deep Space Dexter

Review of “Long Leap” by Derek Kunsken. In On Spec Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2012. By Derek Newman-Stille Derek Kunsken takes on a huge challenge by portraying a character who is utterly without emotions, a sociopathic (though not officially a sociopath) character who is distanced from the human and who murders. He portrays the ultimate monster – the one...

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